Scaffold-Based Network Configuration Parsing and Editing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for maintaining network device configurations in complex infrastructure networks are largely manual and lack comprehensive automation, leading to errors and difficulties in managing consistent or differing configuration settings across multiple devices, which can result in network performance issues or failures.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a scaffold-based approach using structured grammar definitions and restricted grammar language (RGL) rule sets to parse and merge configuration settings across multiple network devices, providing a single comprehensive view for administrators to identify and manage similarities and differences, and automate changes while validating edits for consistency and correctness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual methods are used to maintain network device configurations, then flexibility in handling complex infrastructure networks is maintained, but errors increase and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service configuration management by automatically parsing configuration files, detecting changes, and applying updates across multiple network devices without requiring manual intervention for each device. The scaffold-based approach allows the system to autonomously manage configuration consistency while administrators focus on high-level policy definitions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical configuration processes with an automated computational system that uses scaffold structures and grammar rules to parse, compare, and apply configuration changes. This substitution of manual operations with automated processing significantly improves both productivity and reliability.
2Productivity
If comprehensive automation is implemented for configuration management, then productivity improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments configuration management into distinct functional components: scaffold definition, grammar rule parsing, change detection, and configuration application. This segmentation allows each component to be independently developed, tested, and maintained, reducing overall system complexity while enabling comprehensive automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The scaffold structure serves as an intermediary layer between administrators and individual network devices. It abstracts the complexity of managing multiple devices by providing a unified view and control interface, thereby improving productivity without exposing users to underlying system complexity.
3Ease of operation
If a single interface is provided for managing multiple devices, then ease of operation improves, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The scaffold-based interface provides universal functionality for managing diverse network devices through a single unified interface. The same interface can parse different configuration formats, apply various grammar rules, and handle multiple device types, thereby improving ease of operation while managing complexity through multi-functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates virtual copies of configuration structures through scaffolds that represent the logical model of network devices. These copies allow the system to manipulate and compare configurations without directly interacting with the actual devices, simplifying the user interface while managing the complexity of multi-device management.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method and system to obtain a structured grammar, based on a restricted language (e.g., a known subset of a full language such as a computer language) that may assist with automated parsing and correlation of configuration files conforming to the structured grammar. Once obtained, a plurality of different network device configuration documents (e.g., config file information) may be parsed to create a scaffold view using slots for correlated data across the plurality of different network devices. For example, the scaffold view may include populated branches of the scaffold representative of the plurality of different network device configuration documents. Maintaining a correlation of source data to changes in a single view based on the scaffolding may be used to comprehensively view and edit configuration information.